Business-Friendly Culture - Right-to-work state: Tennessee's right-to-work policy promotes the open-shop philosophy, while closed, union and agency shops are illegal.
- Low unionization: Unionization in East Tennessee is 7%, 5% below the national average.
- Low turnover/absenteeism: The average voluntary turnover rate for all levels of personnel is 2 to 3%.
Talent Pool - Availability: More than 500,000 people work in the 16 counties immediately within Oak Ridge's commuting area.
- Commuting: Almost 15,000 people commute to Oak Ridge from around the region, while 71% of Anderson County residents also work in the county. Cross-commuting patterns in East Tennessee are greater than 75%.
- Recruiting: Oak Ridge companies have no problem finding willing workers from around the country. In fact, the acceptance rate for outside recruiting at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is greater than 75%.
- Productivity: The manufacturing output per employee in Tennessee is consistently above the national average. The labor force is motivated, easily trained and highly productive.
- Wages: Wage scales in Tennessee are 12 to 15% below the U.S. average, with high-tech scales 7.7% below. This average is considerably lower than other high-tech areas.
- Labor Relations: Labor relations in Oak Ridge indicate that employees prefer to deal directly with the employer rather than through a third party. Labor unions in Oak Ridge have proven to be neither aggressive nor militant.
Major Employers in Oak Ridge
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